Built of local fieldstone, it has 2-1/2 stories on the front and is banked, the 3-1/2 stories in the rear providing a lower level access for wagons. It did have several particular features, however, that were unique. In the office on the first floor there is a corner fireplace. The water wheel was run by water from a lake or pond that was built with a mill dam across Valley Creek.

The wheel specifications are: Water Wheel - 16 ft. in diameter, Style of wheel-overshot (fed at top), wheel weight - 2000 lbs., shaft size - 4 inch diameter by 8 ft. long, shaft weight -300 lbs, buckets -72 buckets that are 4 feet wide, max wheel speed-13 RPM, connection - direct shaft to a 12 ft. iron gear that drives an 8 ft. drum driver for the mill wheels. Materials of construction: steel that is powder coated to minimize corrosion. Wheel horsepower: at 250 gallons per minute of water flow and 70% efficiency, the wheel will produce about 50 HP. There have been 2 major construction phases - first for the civil work and then for the building of the wheel itself. There are still some things to finish like stonework on the pier. Future projects may lead to reinstalling a wheel to grind grain.

Below: photos of the water wheel during the construction by B.E. Hassett Millwrights.

Gunkle Mill Specifications